Thawed Heart - Chapter 1 (A Frozen Fanfiction)
by FanficsRawesum121
Summary: Life after Frozen. Relationships are complicated, so stay tuned with this drama-filled Fanfiction telling the stories of Anna, Elsa and Kristoff. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Shortly after Anna and Kristoff celebrated their big royal wedding, they traveled out of the kingdom and visited a romantic honeymoon suite not far from Arendelle. When the newly-in-love couple finished packing their bags and were rushed out of the castle, Elsa, The Queen of Arendelle, was left to finish all of the kingdom's paperwork and complaints about the economy herself.

From time-to-time, maids and servants offered to help her with the tasks, but Elsa would politely decline, reminding herself that she would have to learn these things on her own if she wanted to be a successful ruler to her people one day. Eventually, she got the hang of controlling the overflow of complaint letters and paperwork, and started to adjust her sleeping schedule according to her exhausting labor. A week after Anna and Kristoff left the castle, Elsa fell asleep while organizing a pile of paperwork on her desk. In the middle of her slumber, a maid lightly knocked on her door and called her name.

"Your highness, Princess Anna and Prince Kristoff have arrived home, they are awaiting your assistance," She called reluctantly, not wanting to pester the Queen while working. About a minute passed without a reply, so the maid slightly cracked open Elsa's door, and realized she was fast asleep, snoring on top of her desk. She quietly made her way through the room and tapped Elsa's shoulder a few times. "Your majesty," She urged. "Your sister is back from her trip to Valley Retreat, she is waiting outside." Elsa woke up to gentle shaking on her right shoulder, andMrs. Clair was crouched over looking her in the eyes. "Oh, your Highness! I thought you were more than fast asleep!" She let out a nervous chuckle. "I tried to tell you that Princess Anna and Prince Kristoff are back from their honeymoon." Elsa rubbed her eyes and smoothed her wild hair out lazily. She thought back to the time Anna told her when they would be returning, which was to be Sunday of the following week. "What day is it, Mad'am?" Elsa managed to spit out between stiff lips. "Thursday, your majesty." Elsa thought it was quite odd for them to be returning early, maybe there was a storm or something?

Yawning as she went, Elsa made her way down the winding staircase and to the front doors of the castle. When she got to the bottom of the staircase and opened the heavy castle door, Sure enough, there was Anna and Kristoff, carrying all of their bags and wearing heavy coats looking very uncomfortable. "Anna, Kristoff, why are you two home so early?" Her eyes darted from one to the other, but neither one of them said a word. "Okay well, let me get Mrs. Clair to help you guys get settled back in-"

"No thanks, I'm fine. I'll get settled in myself," Kristoff rudely interrupted as he shoved his way past Elsa, throwing her off balance. Elsa confusedly looked to Anna, and then back to Kristoff, who was stomping his way up the staircase and dragging his bags with him.

"What's with him?" Elsa asked Anna with disquiet. Anna breathed out a sigh of frustration before she filed inside. "I know, I know, Im sorry- I don't know why he's acting so melodramatic!" Anna explained while putting down bags and taking off her coat. "We just... We had this argument before we left, and now he's just 'Mister Grumpy-pants!'"

Elsa was starting to understand, but what made him this mad in the first place? "Anna, I have a feeling your not telling me the whole story," Elsa accused suspiciously. Anna thought for a moment while getting out a slice of chocolate cake from the fridge, then decided to tell Elsa what happened. "Okay, okay. So we were in our guest room, just talking about EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING, and eventually our palace duties came up. He just, started getting defensive about his work and how I didn't understand. Then he had the nerve to tell me that I never work! All I do is sit on my royal butt all day while he goes out and delivers ice! Now that really got my ball rollin'! I was thinking, 'Why is he telling me all of this on our honeymoon? He surely isn't getting any extra attention from me tonight!'-

"Wait! Elsa blurted out, having trouble keeping up with Anna's fast-talking high-pitched babbling. "Let me get this straight; Kristoff is feeling like he is doing more work than you, and _that's_ why you two came home 3 days early?"

"Yes!" Anna affirmed with a mouth full of chocolate.

Elsa rubbed her temple with annoyance. "Anna, you have to work this out with him." She thought about what would happen if she didn't, and came to the conclusion that it might not end well; She cared about her sister and didn't want her to feel like she wasn't there for her. So, she promised that if she needed any help, she could always come to her whenever she felt like it.

Once upstairs in the guest room, Kristoff roughly unpacked clothes from his bag, and prepared a hot bath in attempt to calm down. He relaxed as he sat into the steaming water, but thoughts of the argument and Anna's furious face kept coming back to him. He slapped the water angrily, causing it to splash everywhere. He didn't like seeing her upset, but how could he calm her down when he wasn't calm himself? Eventually, Kristoff felt moderately collected and threw on some clean clothes and zipped downstairs. In the kitchen, Elsa and Anna were talking back and forth about something that seemed important, so he tried his best to act as if they weren't there. He got out a pack of turkey, some Swiss cheese, cabbage and wheat bread. He made about two sandwiches and grabbed a whole pack of carrots on his way out.

"Kristoff?" Anna called softly before he left through the back door. He turned around hesitantly to look at her face, and obviously she was worried about him. In response to that, he made up something off the top of his head, just to get her out of his hair. "I'm, I'll be back.. I just gotta take care of some things." And with that, he left. Anna looked at her sister's sympathetic face, and usually nights like this ended with Elsa holding Anna until she fell asleep. "It's okay Anna, I got you," Elsa would say to re-assure her when she had doubts. Night after night, things would escalate to this point without effort, and Anna was getting restless thinking about what it meant.

Kristoff and Sven hadn't been to the mountains for anything other than ice delivery since his marriage, due to his his princely duties around the castle. These days he didnt have time to mountain climb or explore more of Arendelle like he wanted, but up until recently he felt like going back was the only way to escape his problems. "I can't believe she won't let me go farther than the North Mountain to pick up ice," Kristoff whined out loud. "Or let me wear what I want out, or let me eat what I want to eat anymore! She's so inconsiderate sometimes," He told his pet reindeer Sven, who only rolled his eyes and let out a snort.

When they arrived at the North mountain, Kristoff dismounted Sven and stepped up the beautifully designed staircase, eyeing every detail of the castle. He hadn't really seen everything in the building, since he was practically kicked out of the place by a giant snowman the last time he was there- All because of Anna! Shaking his head, he tried to push thoughts of Arendelle out of his mind. Kristoff froze before he proceeded to knock. "Do you think I should go in?" He asked Sven with uncertainty. "Yes, yes you should," He answered himself in his goofy Sven-reindeer voice. "Okay fine, If you insist," He answered with a smirk. He knocked on the door confidently, as he saw Anna do the day they first arrived there, but it wouldn't open. He attempted to push the door, but it was simply too heavy for even a strong ice deliverer like him. He grunted with frustration, and realized that he might not be able to get in after all. But as he turned to head back down the staircase, both doors opened spontaneously, and inside the main room of the castle, was marshmallow, the giant snow monster. Kristoff gasped and inched his way back out of the doorway. The snow monster waved to him as he hustled down the stairs, and hopped back onto Sven. "Yah, Sven! Let's get out of here," He muttered.

A few days after Kristoff had his first storm out, Elsa was reading on her spare time when she heard firm knocking on her door. Peeking her eyes over the top of the book, she turned her attention to the front of her room. She was almost certain who it was.

The door slightly opened, and Anna's red face peeked through and looked at Elsa with watering eyes. Elsa placed her book faced down by her side on the page she was at and outstretched her arms toward her sister. Anna came running in, and landed in her sister's embrace, sobbing deeply. "Anna, what happened this time?" Comforted Elsa while stroking her hair. Anna wiped her tears and looked into her sister's eyes. "He left again with Sven, I think he's going into the mountains," Anna whimpered dramatically. This was about the 6th time Anna has came into her room like that, and Elsa decided enough is enough. "I need to give him a piece of my mind. Anna, you stay here." Elsa slipped on her glass heels and tightened her braid. "No, Elsa.. I want to go to! I wanna help!" Anna declared, wiping her nose.

"No, I've got this under control, see you in a little while." Elsa then fled down the staircase and snuck out through the back door, without catching the attention of late-working maids. She didn't stop running until the castle was out of sight, and when it was, her sprint turned into a limp."I wonder which way he went," Elsa mumbled to herself as she walked. She assumed he probably had gotten quite far, considering he took Sven with him. "I'll just go this way," She decided, turning to the path on the left.

She sighed. "This is gonna be a long night."


	2. Chapter 2

Elsa looked up into the cloudy grey sky, squeezing her arms together and feeling uneasy about being in the dark. Even though she had been trapped in the dark for many years of her life, she was still relatively afraid of it. The slightest worry crept into her mind, but she pushed it away, knowing that she could turn the whole mountain range into ice and snow if she didn't. Kristoff was somewhere out there, and she didn't want to make this quest more difficult than it was.

As the minutes passed and the sky grew heavier with nightfall, all Elsa could feel was boredom. She lifted her palm up to the sky and pushed up, creating a fountain of showering ice particles and snowflakes, draping all around her. She giggled and projected her ice through the air and up into the sky, until it all started to melt and she was back on her way. Eventually, the path she was following began to die away, fading into the ground the more she progressed. "Wha-where's the rest of the path?" she observed. Elsa stopped where she was and looked beyond the cut off trail, where there presumably was to be more of it, but all she could see were bushes and trees. Elsa continued straight from where she stopped, hoping that it would lead her to Kristoff- soon. She could barely see anything past 2 feet in front of her, and she started to feel anxious about her and Kristoff's safety. What was she to say if she came back to the palace without him, simply because she didn't bring a flashlight with her? Great, Elsa. You couldn't have brought something useful before you left?

She threw her hands up in aggravation, like her thoughts had taken over her. Thinking deeply, she tried to put herself into Kristoff's shoes. Where would I run off to if I was a 5'4, strong mountain man with a pet reindeer? Elsa practically scanned her whole memory for any places she's seen Kristoff and Sven before- And then it hit her. "The North mountain," She muttered with cognizance. Elsa remembered where that was, for she, herself had ran off there once without even knowing where she was going in the first place. Backtracking her steps from when she went there, she went into the woods to her left, attempting to start up on the right path leading to the North Mountain. However, the more she inched deeper into the woods, the more she got lost in her tracks. She turned every which way with desperation trying to find the right way to go. When she turned around, she bumped into something, soft and rock hard at the same time. Elsa was knocked onto the floor, and when she picked up her shivering head to see what it was, a tall silhouette was standing before her.

"Queen Elsa?" A male voice spoke faintly. He knelt onto his knees and pulled her up without effort, and dusted off his pants and coat. Pulling out his hand-held flashlight, he shone the light on her face, and sighed with relief. "Oh, it is you," He panted. "Kristoff, is that you? Ah, get that light out of my face!" Elsa exclaimed, holding her hands up to block the light from her eyes. "Oh sorry," He apologized after putting the flashlight in his pocket. "Um... if you don't mind me asking, why are you wondering the woods alone in the middle of the night?" He questioned curiously. "I was looking for you!" She yelled with frustration. Elsa couldn't even remember at first, and then rightfully decided to confront him then and there.

"Why haven't you been giving respect to my sister? Why do you keep leaving the castle, wondering out into the mountains like a loner? And why are you making such a big deal out of everything, to the point where my sister comes crying to me almost every night! You need to tell me what's going on, or else I'm going back and telling Anna you ran away forever." Elsa huffed with delineate, hands on her hips, staring at Kristoff lacking intuition. Kristoff exhaled slowly, almost smirking. "I don't think you would want to hear the end of it, and frankly it's really none of your business," He said with false confidence. He winced when Elsa responded, fearing what she would say. She's the Queen for crying out loud! No wonder you're scared of her. Not to mention those crazy ice powers of hers. "Alright, if you insist. I guess you wont be needing to return back down to Arendelle then...-" Elsa commenced to go the other way, dramatically flipping her hair.

"Fine!" Kristoff relinquished. "Ever since I got married to Anna, she's just been so controlling about everything I do and everywhere I go, and everything in between! She thinks that just because I'm a prince now, means that I need to be something i'm not. So that's why I've been coming here a lot lately; I need to be in my element, in the mountains, where I belong... Not in a castle," He conveyed, degradation showing through his words. Elsa lamented and put a cold hand on his shoulder. He looked towards her with a startled expression, then looked back down to the ground. "Not everyone is made to be a prince," He continued woefully. "But everyone can be one," Elsa continued, searching for any hope in his eyes. "Even you, Kristoff," She explained with sympathy, warmly looking Kristoff in the eyes. "Come, I'll take you back down," Elsa motioned, holding out her hand towards the castle. Kristoff glanced at Sven, his reindeer, who was listening in on their conversation. "Should I go?" He mouthed with his lips, shrugging. Sven made a noise and shook his head, (Well at least Kristoff thought he did) and he took that as a "I don't think so!"

"No, I'm fine. I'll just, come down in the morning right after we wake up- Right boy?" Kristoff excused, turning to his pet reindeer for a response. Sven rolled his eyes and munched on a carrot from Kristoff's travel pack. "Yeah so, see you tomorrow I guess," Kristoff added, faintly abash. "I guess so," Elsa retorted with a slight smile on her face as she headed down the slope of trees. She didn't know why, but every time she talked to Kristoff, she always had this light feeling in her heart. It wasn't anything special- Surely it was because she knew he would make a great prince for her sister, but sometimes that exact thought made her furious, In the best way of course. She shook off the lingering thoughts in her mind, and walked a little faster downhill until she was back at the path she left off at. Kristoff had been watching Elsa make her way down the slope, to make sure she got down safely and just so that he could be there if she got hurt. "Let's go, Buddy,"Kristoff finally said when Elsa's platinum blonde hair disapeared over the small hill. He took Sven's reigns and lead him deeper into the woods, almost dragging his exhausted body to the nearest cave. "We've got a lot of resting to do."

Elsa didn't expect the time heading back to the castle to be so short, but before she knew it, she was right there at the back door. Heaving long breaths, she mentally prepared herself on what she would say to Anna once she saw her. She closed her eyes, and turned the handle. When the door was cracked open, she spotted a maid folding laundry in the sitting room. She gasped and held her breath tightly while she tried to slip through the door as quietly as she could. Halfway inside, the hinges squeaked with a low pitch, echoing throughout the spacey room. Elsa froze, icing over the door where her hand was placed. She quickly removed it, and fully stepped inside, trying to look unimpeachable. "Mad'am?" The maid quickly looked the princess over for any injuries. "Where were you?" She asked concernedly as she stopped folding Anna's green nightgown. Elsa gulped, and looked out the door towards the area she came from. "I went out to get some fresh air, you didn't see me," She addressed, peering optimistically. "Alrighty then. Just stay out of trouble, your majesty, we wouldn't want you getting hurt," The maid stressed, while resuming the folding. "Oh, no need to worry," Elsa added slyly. When the maid turned her attention back to her duties, Elsa ran as fast as she could to the winding staircase, and quickly made her way up, trying not to make stomping or creaking noises as she pranced up, sliding her hand along the rail as she went. When she was at the top of the steps, she checked Anna's room. She flung the door open and noticed Anna's bed sheets were nicely made and her pillows were neatly propped up against the grand headboard. Elsa began to worry a little, thinking of worst-case-scenario plots. What if she followed me out and got lost in the woods like I did? Then her thoughts ceased, figuring Anna would never be able to secretly leave the castle without someone hearing or seeing her. She was WAY too clumsy to get away with that- In the best way.

Elsa stopped thinking about Anna and yawned with exhaustion. She hadn't gotten much sleep in the last week, and she was ready to knock out in her comfortable, fluffy baby blue comforter. Ready to jump onto her soft and heavenly bed once she got inside her room, Elsa stopped and smiled at the sight. Anna was curled up on Elsa's side, snoring sweetly while gripping Elsa's favorite doll- The one that resembled herself. She quietly walked over to the empty side of the bed, (also the side that wasn't messily stirred beyond repair for the night) and slumped down drained of energy. Not too long after Elsa got comfortable and started to rest, Anna turned to face Elsa and smiled, her eyes still exploring dreams, and mumbling words Elsa couldn't understand. But along with all of the gibberish she was unknowingly speaking, "Thank you," was one of the words that was mumbled, prompting Elsa to hug her sister until she fell asleep, too. "Your welcome."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: **Sorry if this chapter seemed a little short or un-filling! I had a few extra things to do today, so I didn't have much time to add as much this time around. But, disregarding that, I hope each of you enjoy this chapter and there should be another one releasing tomorrow! Stay tuned!

Elsa groaned as a bright ray of sunshine crept through her window's curtains and onto her eyelids, something she hated having to deal with every morning. Elsa threw herself over to the other side of the bed, where Anna had fell asleep the previous night. She stretched her arms and legs out over the empty space, and realized something was wrong. "Where," Elsa grumbled through her messy hair. "Where is she?" Elsa briskly changed into a more comfortable and casual dress, (Of the same aqua color as the previous, of course) and exited her room a little more rushed than she usually did. Elsa flung open Anna's door on the opposite end of the hall to look inside, and nonetheless, her sheets looked as if they had not been touched. Down the long spiraling staircase she went, and into the royal kitchen she searched desperately for Anna. Elsa's eyes flicked from one thing to the other swiftly, her eyebrows scrunching and beginning to look irritated. Mrs. Clair's buckled ankle-boots click-clocked around the corner, knocking loudly against the marble floor as she entered the kitchen. "Good morning, your highness," Mrs. Clair greeted with a friendly one glanced smile. Clair was carrying a fully-decorated chocolate cake, served on a silver platter. "Where are you taking that?" Elsa immediately asked desperate for a response, knowing that Anna LOVED chocolate- Maybe even more than she did. "To the fridge your highness, where else?" She replied with a small beam and a friendly chortle. "_Someone_ seemed to have taken the whole cake last night," She elucidated with a drained sigh, hinting towards the painted portrait of Anna on the wall.

"Oh, my pardon," Elsa apologized while eyeing the piece of artwork confusedly. "I'm just... I was wondering if you knew where Anna was, by any chance," She asked, quickly trailing off and wandering around the room, checking in places she hadn't before. "Well, I haven't the slightest clue," Mrs. Clair replied, placing a delicate hand onto her chest. "Have you tried the royal baths, or the balcony on the second floor? I've seen Anna up there a few times before, singing I suppose," She explained with a grin on her round face. "Oh, the young woman can't go a day without singing," She laughed, and turned around to catch a response from Elsa, but to her surprise, she had been talking to thin air. "Hmph!" She huffed.

Elsa had already been commencing up the stairs toward the balcony, not caring to listen to Mrs. Clair's usual babbling. Rude, (Elsa was aware) but time consuming if not avoided. Elsa looked out of the biggest window which the balcony was set under, but Anna wasn't standing there like she had expected. Another place Mrs. Clair recommended to check was the royal baths- but it was highly unlikely for Anna to be taking a bath at 6:35 in the morning. Elsa had remembered her little speech she created before entering the castle the previous night, and registered that she hadn't told Anna why Kristoff hadn't come back with her. An expression of worry fell upon her face, and down the stairs she went, hauling the back door open as she fled through it. Elsa didn't want to believe that Anna might have left during the night without her knowing, mostly because she didn't want to believe anything bad could happen to her. The slightest positive thought crept into her mind figuring that Anna had been into the woods before, and had been through a whole lot more in the mountain range than she, so feasibly she should probably be fine on her own. But the thought of her being unsupervised in an area Elsa wasn't completely familiar with irked her. On her way up the path she was directed to the other night, she spotted two big figures coming down the opposite way. Elsa squinted and blocked her eyes from the sunshine's morning rays, and realized that it was Kristoff and Sven. "Kristoff!" Elsa squealed, unable to contain her nerves. "Have you seen Anna?" She forwardly asked, gripping his arm with determination. Kristoff brushed her hand off with a look of mild disgust, and fixed a calm demeanor onto his face. "No, I haven't seen Anna. Why do you ask?" Elsa slapped her hand to her forehead, and pushed her more stubborn hairs back, rummaging through her thoughts trying to figure out where to begin. "Because, last night when I came back, Anna was in my bed and I fell asleep. Then when I woke up, like, ten minutes ago," She stated matter-of-factly. "She was gone! And NO one- including you, knows where she is!" She ended abruptly, massaging the skin between her eyebrows. "Look," Kristoff said calmly with a flat tone in his voice, holding out his hand creating a physical barrier. "Once again, I don't know where she is, and I don't think I know where she _could_ be, either. So what do you want _me_ to do?" Kristoff said sarcastically, a smug look on his face, arms crossed. Elsa's face turned red with aggravation as her lips tightened and her eyes widened. "I want you to help me,"She grumbled between gritted teeth. "She's my sister for crying out loud, AND your wife!" She accused, throwing a hand to his face, trying to issue a point. Kristoff huffed dramatically, looking to Sven on his right while letting out a rocked whistle. "Alright, alright. Don't have to be so _bossy_," Kristoff emphasized, turning to Sven beginning to mount onto him. "Excuse me," Elsa pardoned feverishly, grabbing hold of Kristoff's wrist as she began to turn away. He cocked his head and laid a fearful eye onto her cold, icy gaze. "I am the QUEEN. I can be bossy if I please," She warned sternly. As she let go of her tight grip, she shot him a fake smile, clasping her hands together. "Now, where shall we go to first?"


	4. Chapter 4

"I don't know," Kristoff sharply answered, obviously having nothing else to say. Elsa rolled her eyes as she began to follow Kristoff who was traveling on Sven. "You can't at least let me hitch a ride?" Elsa criticized. Kristoff remained faced toward the scenery in front of him, irritated that he was pushed into helping Elsa. He hated helping people. "Your lucky I even agreed to help you find your sister-" "Because I made you," Elsa smirked, finishing Kristoff's sentence on her terms. "You know, this isn't the nicest thing to do towards a _Queen_, Kristoff," Elsa argued, arms folded as she walked. "Yeah, yeah," Kristoff dismissed curtly. "Well to me, you're not a Queen. Your simply my sister-in-law- an annoying one at that." Elsa stopped in her tracks and glared at the back of Kristoff's head, envying him for disrespecting someone with such power. "You know, I think I'll just leave you to the job yourself, you obviously mind having the Queen of Arendelle by your side," She pouted, starting to walk away with crossed arms. Kristoff's heart stopped. "Hold on, buddy," Kristoff murmured into Sven's ears, hopping off the back of his reindeer.

"Elsa, wait," He called, obviously feeling guilty about the situation. Elsa spun around on her heel half way, a frustrated look planted on her face. Boy, she sure looked like Anna when she was mad. "Elsa, I'm... sorry," He apologized, although Elsa could tell he was faking it. "Uh, can you... Can you keep helping me, please?" He spit out after a short while, a puppy-like resemblance in his eyes. Elsa rolled her eyes and walked back up to the side of Sven, waiting impatiently for him to continue on. "Fine. But we've gotta make some progress, we don't have all day," She asserted anxiously. Sometimes, Elsa scared him with her bipolar-like personality._ 'She's conflicted'_ he resolved to himself. One minute she was practically shooting smoke out of her ears, and the next, she was Miss. Bubblegum and rainbows. "Girls are confusing," Kristoff whispered to himself. About half an hour of silence between Elsa and Kristoff had passed, and unfortunately, it was getting close to noon.

"Look," Elsa initiated, feeling confident. "I'm sorry for being so harsh to you most of the time. It's just... Why are you so rude to me?" Elsa aimlessly questioned, feeling like there was nothing better to do. Kristoff huffed out, knowing that this would probably end up bad like their other conversations always did. He knew he was a smart-aleck, but why was Elsa so against it? Anna loved his sarcasm...why didn't she? "I honestly don't know, Elsa," Kristoff responded, obviously having no thought behind it. Elsa huffed in frustration. She hated not having her questions answered, it didn't matter what it was about. Her mind was too persistently curious to not be knowledgeable about something. "Just tell me," She pleaded, a look of desperation in her eyes. Kristoff glanced back at Elsa, and the look on her face at that moment lead him to feel slight sympathy towards her, for whatever reason. "Elsa I told you, I don't know why I'm a jerk... That's just me... That's just Kristoff," He expressed, slowly shifting his gaze to the moving ground. "I mean, Kristoff is fine, but, nice Kristoff is better," She countered with a small smile on her face. "You know, the Kristoff I see when your with Anna."

Kristoff's eyebrows scrunched as he scowled at her remark. What was she trying to say? "What do you mean? I don't have to be nice to you, your not my wife," He argued, with a disgusted tone in his voice. "Yeah? Well, you don't pay attention to your own wife, anyway! Whats up with that?" She intruded, clearly getting too far with her train of thought. "That's none of your business," He simply replied, using every ounce of force in his body to not turn around and run Elsa over with his reindeer... Oh, Kristoff. You gotta stop thinking about those things. "Oh, so now _I'm_ the one holding the other end of the 'secret stick,' ha? What, do you have something to hide, Kristoff?" She manipulated, eyeing him wrathfully. "No, I don't. It's just... Ugh!" He grunted out of frustration, pulling on his blonde hair. "I shouldn't have to explain myself to you, Elsa," He stated sternly. After that, Elsa didn't try and spark up a conversation between them. She knew it would all go down in flames if she tried, so she walked behind Kristoff and Sven with her head down and her eyebrows scrunched, hoping Kristoff wouldn't be as unpleasant once he's had a good reasoning with Anna. She knew that he was probably feeling horrible after finding out he was the reason Anna was so unhappy, but what could he do? Stop being Kristoff? That would be nice.

Two hours slowly dragged on by, having a few things muttered between them every now and then, always started by Kristoff. He felt kind of bad, making Anna and Elsa repulse the idea of speaking to him. He felt bad for himself. Poor Kristoff, you can't have a normal conversation with anybody without pissing them off, can you? He talks to himself a lot, about how good his life would be on his own. If he hadn't married that chatter-box ginger... No. He couldn't bare to think like that. Deep down inside, Anna was the best thing that ever happened to him, no matter how much he thought he enjoyed the solitude of being alone. Well, being with no one except for Sven. "So..." Kristoff started, feeling rather awkward being the only loud noise in the woods. "Hows... Life?" He finally asked, having no communication skills handy for needed conversation. "Fine," Elsa replied in a higher tone, trying to give Kristoff the simplest of her answers to him, as he'd done to her. How about a taste of your own medicine, Kristoff? "Just 'fine'? He quoted with his hands while looking back, startled at her short reply. "I'm sure the life of a Queen- specifically the Queen of Arendelle is much more than the word 'fine.' Tell me about the loads of paperwork, money problems and villagers waiting outside the palace doors wanting to meet you! What about all of that?" He charismatically conversed, which was unexpected of him. Elsa smirked, and looked off to the side. "That's none of your business," Elsa retorted, mocking his previous reply to her questions. Kristoff chuckled, holding onto Sven's reins. It wasn't a friendly chuckle. It was one of those 'Oh-no-you-didn't' kind of chuckles. "You really wanna play it that game?" He answered, fury hidden behind his confidence in speech. "No, _you_ don't have any business in my personal life. You can go and ask Anna about that stuff, but there's no way your getting anything out of me," Kristoff proclaimed, holding a prideful smirk on his face. "I already have," Elsa replied, a smirk also strewn across her face, which shortly turned into a confused expression once Kristoff looked to her surprisingly. "How much did she tell you?" He asked, quite curious about what she had to say- For once. "Well, she didn't tell me everything, just the important stuff," She added, hoping to wipe the utterly confused look off of Kristoff's typically flushed face. "Like what?" He said, almost looking terrified. Elsa loved the fact that she knew his weakness. It was Anna. She knew just how she could get to him. "Oh, I'm sure you already know _everything_, Kristoff," She grinned, shooting him a manipulative, devilish look. She savored the moment that she made Kristoff go on an angered frenzy. Mentally teasing Kristoff was like she had hit gold! She was certain she would never be able to make Kristoff mad- He was just the type that didn't show his emotions too much.

Kristoff shifted around facing the front on Sven with an angered scowl planted on his face, clenched fists and all. Just then, Elsa felt a chill go down her spine, an unsettling eerie feeling. She shivered and stopped to place a hand to her forehead, which she noticed was her usual cold temperature. She shook off the incident and caught up to Sven and Kristoff, who had progressed a few feet away while she was distracted. Elsa hugged her arms together, feeling uncomfortable in her own skin. "Kristoff," She murmured weakly, and fell to the ground. Kristoff hadn't heard Elsa call his name, but did hear the crash of crumpled leaves on the floor. Expecting to see Elsa smiling awkwardly at him having almost tripped, to his surprise she was curled up on the floor clutching her forehead. He honestly thought that she was being over-dramatic, desperately seeking his attention, so he slowly dismounted Sven and walked over to Elsa's body. "What is it now, drama-QUEEN? Haha, get it? Queen?" He joked light-heatedly, realizing Elsa didn't acknowledged he was kidding. "Kristoff, help me... I could be dying for all you care," She breathed, raspily chocking on her words. "I can't stand, it's too hot." Kristoff looked past the trees and into the sky, where the sun was shining well past 85 degrees. "So, you can survive a gigantic snow blizzard in the negative degrees, but you can't stand a little heat?" Kristoff unnecessarily added, scooping Elsa up with two hands. "Man your light, I could probably throw you into space no problem," He joked, unknowingly being the annoying person he was. "And I bet I could freeze you into a living ice age no problem," Elsa mocked with all of the sarcasm she had left in her. Kristoff gulped and she swore he stumbled a little bit before he placed her carefully on the back of Sven. "Now, try not to fall over," He chuckled, and climbed slowly onto Sven's back, eyeing her carefully to make sure she wouldn't tumble over. "Okay, were gonna run to Oaken's, so hold onto me if you need to," Kristoff addressed, not wanting Elsa to be alarmed when they started to gallop. "Yah, Sven!" Sven began to trot, getting used to the uncalled weight that he was carrying, then after a short while he galloped faster than the wind. "Thank you," She mumbled, and wrapped her weak arms around Kristoff's torso, feeling unsafe flopping on Sven's back without support. Kristoff felt a slight tingle in the gut of his stomach once her arms were locked around him, and it made him slightly jump. It felt as if she were hugging him directly on his skin, even though he wore a thick winter coat. "Why do you wear this thing anyway," She mumbled, pinching at his coat where her hands were placed. He began to feel himself break out in a mild sweat on his neck, he felt tense and claustrophobic with Elsa clutched onto his back like that. He simply wasn't used to it. He groaned with discomfort. "For an ice person, you sure do make it feel warm," He complained, pulling at his coat collar, letting a breeze catch his neck. "It is pretty hot out here, if you haven't noticed," Elsa remarked, starting to feel more like herself with a cool breeze whipping through her hair. "Also, I'm pretty sure it has something to do with this ridiculously large coat you have on," She teased, grinning at his seemed-to-be irritated face. "Hey, no one questioned you about your weird glove-wearing habit, alright?" Kristoff quickly responded, leaving Elsa in an inner-raging state for a while._ How DARE he bring that up? He knows it was much more than a 'habit.' He wouldn't understand._ She shook her head, unbeknownst to Kristoff, pitying herself. Tears began to gather along the rims of her eyes, but she sucked it up, refusing to cry at the past- she wouldn't cry about it any more. She blinked several times and widened her eyes to help the aching feeling resign her, until Kristoff spoke up, pulling Elsa away from her thoughts. "Elsa, were almost there," He said, sounding rather exited. That whole trip lasted thirty minutes, and the sun was starting to set. A sky-scape of purples, pinks and oranges took place, creating a breath-taking scenery Elsa loved watching with Anna on the roof of the castle from time to time. Elsa didn't know why Anna loved the roof so much, but she had to admit- It was pretty peaceful up there. Then Elsa began to fret; They hadn't found Anna yet. That was the whole point in her being here in the first place, and all they've achieved was bickering themselves tired! Elsa's grip on Kristoff's solid stomach tightened greatly, causing Kristoff's breaths to become deeper. Kristoff became annoyed at having trouble breathing and told Elsa to give him a little space, but her face was white. "Elsa, are you okay?" He asked, reaching his hand in front of her face and waving it to try and catch her attention. "Anna... We, we haven't found her yet... I've failed! I promised myself I would find her and I've failed! She's probably out there somewhere where I can't find her, who knows where she is!" Her eyes filled up with tears and Kristoff felt his face dragging down along with hers the more distraught she looked. All Kristoff could do was pat her hand lightly which was placed on his stomach while she dried her tears with a free arm. "It's okay, I'm fine..." Elsa admitted, although she was still worried about Anna. "Kristoff," Elsa began to say, a sound of fear in her voice. "What if... What if we don't find her?" She asked, fearfully looking into the back of his head, and then pressing her face into his back. "I don't wanna lose her." Kristoff knew than Elsa loved Anna, just as much as he did, and he didn't want to give up on looking for her, either. "That makes two of us," He replied, leaving Elsa feeling better about Anna. At least she had someone like Kristoff that loved her enough to do this for her._ "I'm sure if I was gone, the kingdom would rejoice,"_ She sourly thought out loud, not expecting Kristoff to hear. "What?" He asked with disbelief, causing her trail of self-hating thoughts to break. She was curious, to say the least, at what he had to say about that. "Your sister wouldn't rejoice, I wouldn't rejoice," He added, making Elsa's heart flutter slightly. "Heck, I bet my _sled_ we would both be out here doing the same thing if you were gone." Kristoff shot her a warm and rare smile at Elsa, making her feel welcome and open to him. She only saw that kind of smile once in a blue moon.

"So, what's the plan for the night?" Elsa asked curiously, getting slightly ahead of herself. "Are we gonna go out with flashlights and call Anna's name? Are we gonna stop at Oaken's and then keep going?" Kristoff soaked in all of her questions and came up with one answer to sum them all up. "No, were gonna stay there for the night," Kristoff affirmed, making Elsa eye him suspiciously, being that wasn't the answer she expected. "We're not gonna, keep looking for her?" Elsa processed, looking off to the side confusedly. "Of course we are," Kristoff reassured, rolling his light brown eyes. "But we can't keep searching all day without sleep. Especially you, you need sleep," He recognized after looking at her dark circles. "The_ Queen_ does not need sleep!" She debated, secretively agreeing with him. She hadn't really slept since the day Anna and Kristoff first left for their honeymoon. Oh, how happy they were when hustling out the door, how exited they were to be going somewhere together, alone. She smiled at the thought of her sister being so happy, but she just wished she could still feel that way, even if they had problems. Now, look at them. Not wanting to be around each other, not communicating with each other, not doing anything together! Unlike before when they were completely and utterly _insufferable_.

"I thought you said we were 'almost there' an hour ago, Kristoff," Elsa reminded him, suddenly feeling the urge to rest. "Oh yeah, I thought we were, I guess not," He grinned, feeling once again like the witty man he knew he was, not the soft, caring teddy bear Anna and Elsa made him feel like. Wait- Elsa, making him feel soft? Unheard of.. He shook the thoughts away and lowered his eyebrows, focusing on the invisible path he had created in his head. "Sven, think you can go a little faster?" Kristoff practically whispered into Sven's ears. "Hold on tight!" He yelled to Elsa just as Sven's sped tripled itself. "We like to go fast!" He warned, and directed his attention back to the front of him. Then all of a sudden, all Kristoff could see was the front of Oaken's trading post, getting a little closer than it should have. "Sven, STOP!" Kristoff yelled, flinching at the upcoming pain he would have to go through. "Elsa, prepare for impact!" Kristoff yelled in panic, and he ducked his head into his chest, holding onto Elsa's arms to make sure she didn't fall off. SMACK. Sven crashed into the side of Oaken's trading post, creating a loud boom that sounded like trees cracking. Oaken, the owner, waddled out of the cabin and worry fell upon his eyes. "Oh, dears... Vhat seemed to be zhe problem?" He asked, helping Elsa up from the ground. Oaken exchanged a few words with Elsa, and turned to Kristoff, who had to help himself up. "You..." Oaken grumbled, eyeing Kristoff with clenched fists. "I vemember you," He continued, inching his way inside, almost like he was trying to get away. Kristoff rolled his eyes and followed Oaken as he made his way inside. "Don't come any closer!" Oaken warned, pointing a shot gun at Kristoff.

"Woe, woe!" Kristoff yelled, holding his hands out for dear life. "Don't shoot me! I mean no harm," Kristoff stated, backing up. "Vhat do you want?" Oaken asked suspiciously, putting down the gun. "I want to spend a night in your barn," Kristoff gulped, gesturing toward the warm-looking building outside the window. He sighed frustratingly just as he caught sight of Elsa and Sven entering inside. Kristoff eagerly turned back to Oaken who was holding out his hand. "What?" Kristoff said confusedly eyeing Oaken's palm. "I need money," He demanded, clenching his fist and releasing again, gesturing that he wanted something there. "But," Kristoff whined, patting his coat and pant pockets for any change. "But I don't have anything on me," He said worriedly, trying to think of what to do. "Uh, I'll be right back," He said, and left the shop in a hurry. Not even a few feet away was the barn, and there seemed to be light showing through the small window cut-out at the top. Mountains of hay piles were bunched up around the area of the barn, each having a unique shape to them. He scanned the barn for Elsa and Sven, and spotted them curled up on the other side of a large haystack. Kristoff trudged over to them and crouched down in front of Elsa, eyeing her curiously. "Elsa, are you awake?" Kristoff asked, reaching for Elsa's hair. Her eye shocked open right away, and grabbed Kristoff's wrist in mid air. "**Don't** touch the hair," She warned, giving him an annoyed glare before shutting her eyes again. "Elsa," Kristoff groaned while shaking her shoulder. "I need your help." Elsa sat up with an agitated look on her face and yawned while Kristoff stepped back. "Don't kill me," He gulped. "What do you want?" She fowardly asked, looking him straight in the eyes. Kristoff calmed when he realized she wasn't lunging at him ferociously, or aiming her crazy ice powers at him. "The owner wants money for us to sleep in the barn and I don't have any. Your the Queen, don't you have money on you?"

"Well of course I have money, but I didn't think we would be needing it at this time of day," She argued, clearly upset that she couldn't help. Kristoff sighed hopelessly. "Anna is just the same way. How come you royals aren't prepared for anything?" He grumbled, and started towards the opening of the barn. Just when he was about to exit, a thin wall of ice shot up from the bottom of the barn, covering the doorway. "What-" Kristoff wondered out loud, retreating from the ice that he could easily see through. He curiously poked it, realizing that for a thin wall of ice, it sure was sturdy. "Hey Elsa, this would be perfect for my ice delivery! We could make more ice at a time, and it would still be worth three times the size!" Kristoff expressed, feeling rather ambitious. He was always ambitious when it came to his ice delivery. "I'm here with you on this trip when I clearly don't have to be, and now your asking me to help you with your job?" Kristoff shook his head and let out light laughter. "No, no, no. You asked me for help first, remember? And now it's my turn to ask you for help. Plus, if you do this for me, it's not like your actually doing anything. Is it tiring to magically create blocks of ice in thin air?" He debated, hands on his hips. Elsa looked to the wood floor underneath her, considering whether or not to agree. "No, I guess not," She answered, feeling beaten, conquered. Oh, the things she did for her brother in law. "So you'll do it? It'll make my job a whole lot easier," Kristoff breathed inconsiderately with a satisfied grin. "I'll do it for my kingdom, but not for you," She issued, glaring at him with a stern look. "Anyway, back to the subject. We can bargain your reindeer to sleep here," she suggested, motioning towards Sven who picked his head up in disapproval. "No way! Are you serious! Sven is like a brother to me!" Kristoff said, hugging Sven tightly around the neck. "He's a reindeer," Elsa remarked flatly, watching the two share a bromance. "A brotherly reindeer!" Kristoff defended, puckering out his bottom lip, still holding onto Sven's neck. Just then, a dissolved knock sounded from the outside of the ice wall, and a very tall figure was shadowed outside. "Yoo-hoo! Vhat is taking young man so long?" He sang out, practically pressing his face against the glass. "Kristoff sighed and walked to the entrance. "Elsa, could you take that wall down?" Kristoff asked, seeming annoyed. Elsa raised her hand and flicked upward, allowing all of the ice that once stood tall and strong fell easily like a bunch of noodles, leaving Oaken's face drenched. Kristoff tried to contain his laughter, and then proceeded on figuring out what to do. "Vhere is my money?" Oaken asked, face shiny covered in melted ice. "We don't have any, either of us..." Kristoff said, looking around the warm-looking barn. "But, Elsa says she will come back when it is convenient and pay you the fee. She_ is_ the Queen of Arendelle, after all," Kristoff smirked towards Elsa, her face in sheer horror. "Okay, don't forget, my dear Queen!" Oaken sang triumphantly, waddling back inside his shop. "Fhew," Kristoff exasperated, pretending to wipe sweat off of his forehead. "Nice going, Kristoff," Elsa pouted, crossing her arms over her chest, breathing deeply. "Hey, I had no choice. We had to sleep _somewhere_," Kristoff stated, crossing his arms as well, facing the other way.

"Well, see you tomorrow, I guess," Kristoff mumbled after a period of silence, turning to his side, snuggling into the hay. This reminded him of home, back with the trolls where he was raised. It wasn't always this peaceful, though. His memories forced a smile to his face while he dozed off to sleep. Elsa stayed up the longest, tossing and turning, worrying about her kingdom and Anna. _What am I going to do?_ Eventually, her wild thoughts came to a halt, and she fell into a deep sleep. It felt good to be able to sleep like that again.


End file.
